Assault on King George

The mystery of the missing sword.

It was the mid-'70s and King George V had been dead for more than
40 years when some rogue stole his sword.

The dignity of George's statue, which stands by the Woodward Biomedical
Library, took a serious blow when some students made off with his
sword in the dead of night.

For years, passersby placed soda cans and Styrofoam cups in his
empty bronze hand -- just where the sword should have been.

Twenty-five years passed before a mystery caller telephoned the
UBC President's office, saying he was one of the students who had
stolen the sword. For a quarter-century, it had taken pride of place
in his rec room before his conscience got the better of him. Now,
the former student said, he had returned the sword to the scene
of the crime.

Campus Security officers found the King George's sword lying under
some bushes near the statue, and Plant Operations staff returned
it to its rightful home.